The Hanwha Group recently announced that it will open a US-based solar module factory in the United States in 2019, with an estimated annual production capacity of more than 1.6 GW.
According to reports, the facility will be located in Whitfield County, Georgia, near the Tennessee border. Hanwha stated that Whitfield County will give its $30 million worth of benefits by providing free land and tax cuts.
Hanwha said that the product provided will be a passivated emitter-after-contact (PERC) module for the United States rooftop and ground installations. Solar cells will be supplied from the company’s Korean manufacturers to the facility.
The "Korea Times" stated that this is the last choice of the company based on a prior public statement.
South Korea Group CEO Cho Hyun-soo disclosed in January that South Korea filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization about the Trump administration's tariff on solar panel 201.
If the facility will assemble a 1.6-GW solar module with a value of 50 cents/watt, this will avoid the $200 million import tariff in 2019, the $160 million tariff in 2020, and the $120 million tariff in the 2021 final tariff year. .
This also means that Hanwha Group will have manufacturing capabilities in the United States, Korea, Malaysia and China.
Since Trump’s government announced the imposition of high tariffs on imported solar cells, major manufacturers in the world began to announce the establishment of plants in the United States to avoid high import taxes. For example, JinkoSolar has announced the establishment of a new factory in Jacksonville. Supported its 2.75 GW supply agreement with NextEra Energy.
SunPower also purchased SolarWorld Americas' facilities and produced a series of P-type hybrid modules in the United States. Itek and Solartech Universal also recently announced expansion plans.
The current production capacity of the Tesla-Panxia super factory is not yet clear. Tesla's maintenance of the 2019 plant will reach 1 GW.
With the Tesla-Matsushita Super Factory reaching full capacity, SolarTech Universal and Mission Solar, as well as the Hanwha Group's new factory expansion, if all plants are completed, the US will have a crystalline silicon module capacity of at least 4.4 GW at the end of 2019.
In addition, First Solar also announced plans for the largest solar panel factory in the Western Hemisphere to manufacture its large-size thin-film solar modules. Therefore, if this 1.8 megawatt thin-film solar module is added, the United States will have the ability to meet half or more. More expected demand.